Monday, February 29, 2016

Yesterday was a lovely day for Michael and I. We went on a bike ride!! We rode from our house to the park that T and I rode in last Wednesday. Overall our trip was 17.25 miles and took 1 hour & 45 minutes. The first and last 2 miles were rather slow because it was a lot of stopping at lights and trying to cross roads. Michael didn't get to go as fast as he wanted, but he's still happy that we went out.

Cold Sniff: 3/5 A nice butterscotch and maple type scent, but it had a weird waxy undertone that I feel like a lot of blends with vanilla have.

Warm Sniff: 4/5 The weird waxy tone was still there, but it stayed in the area immediately around the warmer so I didn't mind. The rest of this remained a pleasant, light scent that remained true to its name. There was an almost rum-like note to it, but it was very light.

Scent Strength: 1/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire living room.

Melting Power: 4/5 I got 6 hours from this before the scent died off and the tealight candle went out.

Purchase: This was a gift. I would get this if I could! I'll be saving the last 4 cubes for times when I want the house to smell nice but don't want to assault anyone's noses with some potentially ridiculous blends.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

I like how this soap turned out looking. A very gentle swirl of colors. This was one of the soaps I brought with me to Korea, so I can comment on how it performs after a full curing time! This particular bar doesn't look the best because someone (*coughmomcough*) dropped it on the floor. Thanks a lot. :)

Saturday, February 27, 2016

I'm rather disappointed in my Thursday (the 25th). I was supposed to go to a Korean cooking class. That was my entire planned day. I did ride my bike on our trainer and play some video games, but the big thing I was waiting on was the cooking class.

The informational email I got stated that the class would start at 1800, or 6 PM. As I was getting ready to leave at around 5:30, I checked my email to find a 2nd email. This 2nd email said that there was a mix up in the times and the class was actually from 3:30-5:30. AUUUGH! I was so upset! There went my Thursday! I spent the rest of the night playing video games.

Scent Description: Peppermint/spearmint/None available. If I had to venture a guess I'd say something with vanilla.

Weight Melted: 1.4 oz

Location of Warmer: Office

Cold Sniff: 3/5 I got very strong spearmint on cold sniff. While I like spearmint, I was hoping for more here.

Warm Sniff: 5/5 Ohhh, my goodness! Think peppermint without that choking after-scent that you always catch on the exhale, spearmint without smelling too similar to gum and very slight on that menthol note, and an over pour of sweet, vanilla goodness. At one point Michael picked up on chocolate, and I can definitely say I noticed it after he mentioned it. Totally weird, but I'm okay with it! That chocolate note was one of the most authentic chocolates I have ever smelled.

Scent Strength: 2.5/3 This started off pretty strong as the minty chunks seemed to be the first things that melted, but the swizzle sticks once melted soothed this entire melt down into a pleasant but very strong scent.

Scent Throw: 4/3 This filled the entryway, guest room, office, kitchen and dining area, hallway, and part of the living room. Methinks I will melt a little less next time. LOL

Melting Power: 5/5 I got a good 20 hours of strong scent before turning off the warmer. I turned the warmer back on for another 4 hours a day or so later and was still able to get throw that filled the office, hallway, and kitchen/dining area.

Purchase: This was a gift, and yes yes yes I would definitely purchase this if the chance came up! I'm thinking at this point the only way I can get such a blend is by buying some mini melters and making it myself. Why am I falling back in love with Rosegirls now that they're changing everything up on me?? T__T

Friday, February 26, 2016

Cold Sniff: 4.5/5 A pleasant herbal lavender smothered in sweet berried and evidently flowers now that I've read the scent description. Probably not a big hit with those who don't like lavender, but I found this one to be fantastic!

Warm Sniff: 4.5/5 Same thing when melted.

Scent Strength: 1/3

Scent Throw: 1/3 This scent couldn't be found beyond 3 feet from the warmer. :(

Melting Power: 3/5 I let this go for about 4 hours before turning the warmer off.

Purchase: Ugh, I loved the scent so much!! I don't know why the performance bombed like that! Right now I'm going to go with a no, but I will try melting the rest of this heart in a different kind of warmer to see if I get better performance. If the performance is better, I'll come back and edit this post with that information. If nothing changes, this will remain a no.

EDIT: I melted the other half of this heart, 1.4 oz, in a tealight warmer in the living room, and had better performance. The scent threw a lot further, but it was incredibly light. My answer is thus going to slightly change. I may make an order that includes this if I'm wanting something to round out my scent selection, but I will by no means make an order just for this particular tart.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Cold Sniff: 3/5 This was a rather generic bakery scent. Without knowing what the notes were I thought of bread and berries.

Warm Sniff: 2/5 This took on an apple note once warmed. It wasn't too strong, but I'm not a fan of apple pie or really anything apple unless it's a side note to an entire medley and this turned into an all apple scent.

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 1/3 This was only able to fill the office.

Melting Power: 3/5 I got about 5 hours from this before it died off.

Repurchase: No. Outside of the apple takeover that occurred, I wasn't that impressed with the performance. I don't think I'm even willing to melt the rest of this clamshell.

I am a failure of a blogger. First, I forget to tell you guys about the two tealight warmers I picked up from the Daiso in my trip to Yongsan (pictured above), then I completely forget to take any pictures of my very jam-packed day yesterday

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Yesterday I did not go on that bike ride into Yongsan with Michael like we were planning to do. Instead we had a very lazy day. We walked to our realtor's office to pay our gas bill and then walked on post so I could sign up for a cooking class that had some slots open. We also checked the mail and picked up some stuff from the commissary before walking home and spending the day in hanging out on the couch together and watching movies.

Warm Sniff: 3.5 The scent changed while melting. First I could swear that I picked up on a strong cherry scent. Then that cherry turned into a tart raspberry. Then the scents melted together into a generic berry scent. It was nice, but nothing groundbreaking.

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire living room

Melting Power: 4/5 I got about 6 hours before the scent died down.

Repurchase: No. I feel like there was too much going on in this melt for my nose to really appreciate each scent. The scent didn't last as long as I wanted given the amount I melted. Maybe it's my fault, maybe it's because I still have a warmer that can't be used to its full potential here in Korea, but with circumstances as they are I will melt the rest of this heart and be done with this particular scent blend from this vendor.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Oh, hi there! I think I have a bit to type about, and a lot of thoughts to share, but I'm afraid I don't have very many pictures to share. In fact, I have two that I snapped in the car. Why? I don't know, I wanted to LOL. On one hand I know that not a lot has happened. On the other hand I feel like there has been a major shift in my life.

Melting Power: 5/5 I got about 9 hours from this tart before the scent died off.

Repurchase: Yes! I might even pick up a larger quantity just so I have something to blend with! This is also a pleasant, easy scent for me when I want something nice and don't want to worry about whether I'll like it or not.

Melting Power: 4/5 I got about 6.5 hours of scent before the scent died off.

Repurchase: No. I would probably pick up another blend with just toasted marshmallows and jelly doughnuts, but I don't think glazed donuts played a significant part of this blend and I don't like my bakery scents to be too bready. Too much bread and there's a weird salty note that I can't wrap my nose around.

Cold Sniff: 5/5 Love love love love! I'm a big lavender fan, and a big sweets and bakery fan, and this was a combination of all of that together! I thought of sweet cookie dough sitting next to a vase of sweet lavender flowers.

Warm Sniff: 5/5 No changes when melted. Each note of this blend was definitely there and I feel like each scent played an equal roll in the final product.

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire living room.

Melting Power: 5/5 I got 20 hours of scent from this half heart before the scent receded to the area immediately surrounding the warmer. Uh, yes please!

Purchase: Yes! This was gift<3, and I'm so happy to have tried it! I made a few blends in my recent SMT order that include this blend and I'm so happy to know that this is such an amazing scent. My blends will be all the better with this. Next time, though, I hope to be able to pick up a larger amount of just this.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Scent Description: None available, but I think the blend is rather self explanatory.

Date Received: Some time in June of 2013.

Weight Melted: .14 oz.

Location of Warmer: Living Room

Cold Sniff: 2.5/5 I could only pick up on Serendipity on cold sniff. I don't particularly care for serendipity on its own, as I'm sure you're aware by now. I love it in blends, though! This just didn't smell like a blend.

Warm Sniff: 2.5/5 Unfortunately, no change. Serendipity was all that this tart turned out to be. If the other scents had made an appearance here I feel like this could have been an amazing blend! Alas, it was not meant to be.

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire living room.

Melting Power: 3/5 I let this go for about four hours before I went ahead and turned off the warmer.

Repurchase: No. If I ever find a serendipity blend that isn't all serendipity I would probably fall head over heels, but the scent by itself is not something I'm a fan of. It's that cherry note! It's fine in a blend, but by itself I feel like it's too suffocating.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Heeeey. Remember in my last haul how I said I was good on Lush for a while. Oops. LOL

I actually knew that this purchase was coming up the next time we went to Itaewon. My shampoo and conditioner has been getting low and I've wanted to switch to something less chemical-ey as my scalp as been giving me issues. I figured why not try Lush?

I woke up at 7:30 while Michael was getting ready for work. I successfully went to bed early last night (around 1AM, which is about 3 hours earlier than I've been getting to bed). I was so happy when I woke up and didn't feel like sack of potatoes when waking up. How does a sack of potatoes feel? I don't know. I imagine not good enough to get out of bed, though. LOL

Monday, February 15, 2016

Valentine's day was pretty relaxed for me. Michael had a 24 hour shift so I spent a good chunk of the day watching movies, playing video games, and basically ignoring any responsible tasks I told myself I would accomplish.

Scent Description: Lush dupe. Patchouli, sandalwood blend with hints of citrus and vetiver.
I can't comment on how accurate a dupe this is, but I'm a big fan of this scent. I see why Julie is such a fan of Lush's other products in this scent!!

Weight Melted: 0.9 oz

Location of Warmer: Living Room

Cold Sniff: 5/5 There's something so musky, so homey, so fantastic about this scent! Let's just accept the fact that I cannot do scent descriptions. How do you describe patchouli? I don't know, but I can tell you what's in this blend and it... uh, blends together nicely. :)

Warm Sniff: 5/5 No surprises when melted.

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire living room.

Melting Power: 5/5 Sixteen hours from one of these adorable pumpkin heads. The scent even lingered into the next couple of tarts I melted. Maybe I should do a better job of clean up next time. Oops.

Purchase: I already did! This was a gift, but was so impressed with the performance I went ahead and put in an order to OPT. I got a set of mini wax pies in this scent.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

When I mentioned that I wanted to work on one room a day, I forgot that Michael got these past two days off. We've not really spent any one on one time together, so this weekend was (for the most part) just 'us' time.

Cold Sniff: 4/5 I definitely picked up on the fir and balsam on cold sniff. In the background was a sweet concoction of apples and oranges drizzled in sweet cinnamon and maple. A truly delicious scent.

Warm Sniff: 4/5 When melted, this turned into a scent that my notes describe as "sweet, almost spicy fruit & berry medley with a backdrop of winter forests." Delicious! As this melted on, the scent tapered off into a pleasant spiced apple scent.

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire living room

Melting Power: 5/5 This had about 12 hours of scent before I turned off the warmer.

Purchase: See what I did there? Technically I never purchased this, because I got it as a gift from one of my lovely waxy friends. You know who you are. Thank you!! In any case, I will definitely pick up some of this blend in the next SMT opening I partake in. My next list is growing... again. I'm so excited!!

Friday, February 12, 2016

Scent Description: A blend of fresh strawberry, sugar and sweet vanilla/none available/"SMT Blend"
When smelling this I got mainly cotton candy with a sweet strawberry scent.

Date Received: 12-17-15

Weight Melted: 1.1 oz

Location of Warmer: Office

Cold Sniff: 4/5 I'm a fan of cotton candy/strawberry blends, so this was nothing out of my comfort zone.

Warm Sniff: 4/5 Same

Scent Strength: 2/3

Scent Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire office, kitchen, and hallway.

Melting Power: 4/5 I got about 7.5 hours from this chunk before the scent died off.

Repurchase: No. While I loved what this smelled like, I couldn't really figure out what the sweet 16 was supposed to be, nor did I ever pick up on anything pretzel-like. I'll definitely be picking up a Strawberry Cotton Candy blend though! :)

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Man, I don't think this picture shows how clean the kitchen is! Nor does it portray how much work I put into it. Bah, you'll just have to take my word for it! Anyways, on to my day! Complete with a little food experiment for me!

Scent Description: Every Laird needs a good hearty breakfast to get their day started. Creamy caramel Snickers coffee and cinnamon sugar tea cakes.
This brings to mind sweet cinnamon toast with a cup of coffee.

Date Poured: 12-16-15

Weight Melted: 1.2 oz

Location of Warmer: Living Room

Cold Sniff: 2/5 I wasn't sure what I picked up on cold sniff. Something spicy, definitely, but nothing else really poked its head through.

Warm Sniff: 4/5 Yum. I felt like I was hanging out in a breakfast café the entire time this melted.

Warm Sniff: 5/5 I feel like Julie would be a huuuuuge fan of this scent! It's so musky with just a hint of sweet homey-ness. Pink sugar doesn't actually smell like PS in this blend, just something soft tying together this blend.

Scent Strength: 3/3

Scent Throw: 5/3 This filled the entire house. I'm glad I wasn't melting anything else at the time, otherwise that scent would've been drowned out!

Melting Power: 5/5 I got a good sixteen hours of scent from the small bit of wax I used. This baby packed a punch!

Repurchase: Yes! Though I do not see myself going through this fast enough to warrant another purchase any time soon. A little goes a long way!

Maybe it's better that I held off on posting any more Lush hauls until I had a huge conglomerate to post about. So here's 3 separate Lush hauls all put into one! Let's start with the beginning of January, at our local Lush store! Unfortunately, I don't recall what these prices were and I no longer have the receipts. They were comparable to regular Lush prices, though.

So... about two posts ago I talked about my goals with this blog. Post more consistently. And you want to know the only reason why the two posts since February 2nd have posted? Scheduled posting. Funny story about this. Ahahahaha. Ha. Ha. -.- Please, join me in laughter. If you're wondering about the picture, it's just the aftermath of me taking pictures for my upcoming collective Lush Haul.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Also known as Vanilla from Essential Depot makes me sad. This is one of the soaps that I had seize on me and didn't end up looking very pretty. I mean, maybe it does? I can say I was going for a more rustic, sloppy look. Think anyone will buy that story? Dad says he likes it and the soap was for him, so that's all that matters.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Welcome to the month of February! Congratulations, you survived the start of the New Year! If this is your first month joining us, Band of Bloggers is a revamped version of the Order of the Odor, where we do a monthly chat about all matters of waxy things and life. We hope you join us in the conversations!

This month's question is: Now that we have settled into the new year of 2016, we wanted to find out what are your goals for this year (life, blog, work, travel etc)?

Oh man, so many goals, so little time. In life I just want to move forward, put simply. I realized in 2015 that I was carrying a lot of baggage from my past and it still affects certain things I do and the way I perceive the world, and not always in a positive manner. Moving forward includes pushing myself to go out more and shut down that hermit-like side of me that I've been fostering since Michael joined up. It includes continuing to eat right and work towards more physical activity to keep my energy levels up and my mood more stable. It includes continuing to date Michael and never growing complacent in our marriage. It includes seeing and doing everything I can in Korea with the time that we have, and learning to splurge a little more if it means making an amazing memory.

For blogging, I just want to be more consistent. I kept up some fairly consistent blogging for two or three months in 2015, but kind of fell off the bandwagon for a good chunk of the year. I'm hoping that this year I not only keep myself more active in the blogging world but keep track of more stuff in my life to share with you guys, whether it be nail art or wax or the life of a foreigner in Korea. I'm determined to keep blogging about Korea so I have something concrete to look back on when our time here is over.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

We went to the mall and Itaewon again on the 30th. I took some pictures of the mall and one of the view from one of the crosswalks at Itaewon but it was crowded and I was stressed out so I passed on a lot of picture taking opportunities. At the mall we picked up some small knicknacks to fill in the rest of the space in the box I'm sending home to my family. At Itaewon we stopped at Lush and got some skin products for Michael. He's been having issues with dry, itchy skin. We got him two body conditioners and a rub rub rub body sugar scrub thingy. There are still quite a few Christmas products on display. We picked up one, the Christingle body conditioner. Our free 'sample' was a full sized piece of the coalface soap.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Scent Description:Pretty simple self explanatory scent blend. I couldn't find a scent description for 2/3 of these, anyway.
While sniffing the wax I get a very faint, powdery sweet strawberry rolled in crumbled pretzels. I think of a dish my Mom makes for Thanksgiving and Christmas called Strawberry Salad that is anything but a salad :)

Date Received: 12-17-15

Weight Melted: 1.0 oz

Location of Warmer: Living Room

Cold Sniff: 3.5/5 I liked this enough, but it was very faint.

Warm Sniff: 3.5/5 No change.

Scent Strength: 0.5/3 You know how I say that scent strength doesn't typically mean anything good or bad? Here it's bad. The scent was incredibly light and if I didn't know I was melting something I probably would not have noticed the scent. It was an incredibly light bready strawberry scent.

Scent Throw: 2/3 This filled most of the living room. Again, though, I had to strain for it.

Melting Power: 4/5 I left this on for about 6 hours before I could not pick up the scent no matter how hard I tried.

Repurchase: No. If the scent had been just a little stronger I would say yes, as it's quite a nice scent. As it was I added the second half of the chunk halfway through melting to see if I could get a difference in performance. The answer was no.